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I’ve also developed a growing interest in lyric games. Here, I have @idlecartulary.itch.io to thank for their tweets on the subject and originally exposing me to the idea, as well as Yoko Ono's book Grapefruit and @wordymelt.bsky.social’s Maltese lyric game The Government Versus the Trees.

Photo of the book Grapefruit by Yoko Ono, published by Simon & Schuster in 2000.

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I believe that the best way to properly understand a people is to read their literature. One book that continues to sit with me is Il-Baħar Rasu Iebsa by Lino Psaila, a collection of oral tales about real-life fishermen from the late 19th and early 20th century and the tragedies they endured.

Photo of the book Il-Baħar Rasu Iebsa by Lino Psaila, published by Klabb Kotba Maltin in 2003.

Another influence is the Maltese language itself, particularly when it comes to etymology, various archaic words, domain specific words, and place-names. One example for this is Erin Serracino Inglott's 10 volume Maltese to Maltese dictionary Il-Miklem Malti, which is a phenomenal resource.

Photo of two piles of books. The pile of books on the left is the 10 volume Maltese to Maltese dictionary Il-Miklem Malti by Erin Serracino Inglott. From top to bottom, the titles in the pile of books on the right are as follows: Qiegħda fil-Ponta ta’ Lsieni: It-Tielet Ktieb by Ġużi Gatt, Ġabra ta’ Kliem Malti Mhux Safi - Malti Safi by Pupull Debattista Borg, Bejn Kliem u Storja by Martin Morana, Maltese-English Dictionary of Architecture and Building in Malta by Michael Ellul, The Surnames of the Maltese Islands by Mario Cassar, Il-Ġrajja Wara l-Kelma by Charles Briffa, A Comparative Dictionary of Maltese Proverbs by Joseph Aquilina, Kliem Malti Qadim by Godfrey Wettinger, Dizzjunarju ta’ Termini Nawtiċi u Tagħrif Marittimu Lokali by Joseph Caruana, and Place-Names of the Maltese Islands ca. 1300-1800 by Godfrey Wettinger.

I take a lot of inspiration from Maltese folk tales, folklore, and legends. Manwel Magri’s Ħrejjef Missirijietna is my go-to collection of evocative local folk tales, while for folklore, I turn to Joseph Cassar Pullicino’s Studies in Maltese Folklore or Tarcisio Zarb’s Folklore of an Island.

Photo of a pile of books. From top to bottom, the titles are as follows: Joseph Cassar Pullicino’s Studies in Maltese Folklore, Mid-Dinja tas-Seħer u tal-Folklor by Anton F. Attard, Ħrejjef Missirijietna by Manwel Magri, Mill-Gżira tal-Ħolm - It-Tieni Ġabra ta’ Leġġendi Għawdxin by Ġorġ Pisani, Għawdex Joħlom fil-Leġġendi by Ġorġ Pisani, Folktales of Malta and Gozo by Ġużè Cassar Pullicino, Stumme’s Folktales from Malta by Hans Stumme and translated by Lily Grima, Karattri tal-Fantasija Maltin by Ġużi Gatt, and The Maltese Bestiary by Stephan D. Mifsud.

Photo of a pile of books. From top to bottom, the titles are as follows: Il-Kultura Maltija by Fiona Mallia, Mediċina Popolari ta’ l-Imgħoddi fil-Gżejjer Maltin by Guido Lanfranco, Mill-Ħajja tal’ l-Imgħoddi: Tagħrif Folkloristiku minn Għawdex by Anton F. Attard, Folklore of an Island by Tarcisio Zarb, Qwiel u Qaddisin by Victor J. Galea, and The Maltese Islands & the Sea edited by Timmy Gambin.

If you’ve read my previous blog post, it should come as no surprise that Maltese books would be a significant influence in my work. Stephan D. Mifsud’s The Maltese Bestiary is probably my biggest inspiration, exploring different mythical creatures in Maltese folklore with a phenomenal bibliography.

Photo of the book The Maltese Bestiary by Stephan D. Mifsud, published by Merlin Publishing in 2014.

I’ve jumped on @prismaticwasteland.com’s blogwagon and written a blog post about my own personal Appendix N; the different sources of inspiration that inform my game creation process. You can read the full blog post here: ghargremxul.mt/blog/persona..., but here’s a quick summary in this thread:

Photo of a page from the Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition Player's Handbook titled "Appendix E: Inspirational Reading"

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Pillar 4: Crediting any images used I have no artistic talent and can't contribute any art to my games. But I could use public domain art (such as Maltese art or from sources related to Malta), and could commission artists. I felt strongly about providing credits and source for any image I used.

Photo of a print by Edward Caruana Dingli in a book. The print depicts a scene in a Maltese village where a man dressed in traditional Maltese attire is milking a goat for a woman dressed in traditional Maltese attire. The print is taken from the book Malta: the colour and life of Malta from original paintings, published in 1925 by Critien’s.

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Pillar 3: Containing a bibliography of further reading material Inspired by D&D's Appendix N, and driven by Mifsud's bibliography at the end of The Maltese Bestiary, I wanted to provide a list of sources and further reading material for anyone interested in learning more.

Photo of a page from the book The Maltese Bestiary by Stephan D. Mifsud. The page is entitled References and lists 20 visible references as follows: 1. Mifsud Chircop George, 1994, Manwel Magri - Ħrejjef Missirijietna, Publishers Enterprises Group. 2. Galea Victor, 1999, Qwiel u Qaddisin, Calypso Island Publications. 3. Cassar Pullicino Joseph, 2000, Folktales of Malta and Gozo, Malta University Publishers. 4. Pisani George, 1980, Għawdex joħlom fil-Leġġendi. Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza. 5. Pisani George, 1985, Mill-Gżira tal-Ħolm, It-Tieni Ġabra ta’ Leġġendi Għawdxin, Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza. 6. Camilleri Joseph C., 2010, Ġabra ta’ Leġġendi. Wise Owl Publications. 7. Zarb Tarcisio, 1998, Folklore of an Island, Publishers Enterprises Group. 8. Lanfranco Guido, 2007, Bejn Storja u Drawwa, Wise Owl Publications. 9. Lanfranco Guido, 2005, Drawwiet u Ħajja mill-Istorja ta’ Malta, Wise Owl Publications. 10. Lanfranco Guido, 2008, Nagħrfu l-Leġġendi Maltin, Wise Owl Publications. 11. Lanfranco Guido, 1993, Ħxejjex Mediċinali u Oħrajn fil-Gżejjer Maltin, Media Centre Publications. 12. Lanfranco Guido, 2002, Drawwiet u Tradizzjonijiet Maltin, Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza. 13. Sultana Joe (Editur), 1995, Flora u Fauna ta’ Malta, Pubblikazzjoni Dipartiment għall-Ħarsien tal-Ambjent. 14. Anton Attard. 2002, Mid-Dinja tas-Seħer u tal-Folklore, A&M Printing, Qala. 15. Magri Emmanuel, 1905, Précis de Mythologie Maltaise in Actes du. XIV Congrès International des Orientalistes, Alger. 16. Cassar Pullicino Joseph, 1991, Ħżuż Manuel Magri, Thyme Books. 17. Anton Grasso, 1987, Enigma, Universal Library, Hamrun. 18. Baldacchino Alfred E. & Schembri Patrick, 2002, Amfibji, Rettili u Mammiferi, Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza. 19. Cassar Pullicino Joseph, 1992, Studies in Maltese Folklore, Malta University Press. 20. Mifsud Anton, Mifsud Simon, Agius Sultana Chris & Savona Ventura Charles, 2001, Malta - Echoes of Plato’s Island, The Prehistoric Society of Malta.

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Pillar 2: Available to play in Maltese The Maltese language doesn't have a large digital footprint, and could become digitally extinct. This is due to small population of Malta, as well as people speaking English fluently. As a form of language reclamation, I translate all my games to Maltese.

Photo of a pile of books. From top to bottom, the spines read as follows: Ġrajjiet il-Kliem: Qadium u Tekniku by Charles Briffa, It-Teżawru: Ġabra ta’ Sinonimi u Antonimi by Albert W. Agius, Maltese Linguistic Surveys by Joseph Aquilina, Maltese and Other Languages: A Linguistic History of Malta by Joseph M. Brincat, Is-Sessiżmu fil-Lingwa Maltija edited by George Farrugia, and Storja tal-Ilsien u l-Letteratura Maltija - Kronoloġija.

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